Mariner of the Seas 7 day Mexico Review w 2 toddlers

[lindaana]

We just got back from the 7 day Mexican riviera cruise on Mariner of the Seas. These boards helpped me out so much preparing for that cruise I thought I'd post a review in the hopes of helping another planning family. :)

 

We have a 3 yr old and an 18 month old. We got 2 adjoining balcony rooms. Requested a pack and play which we got. Girls slept in one room, we were in the other with the door always adjar.

 

Packing: We overpacked the warm weather gear as we were in sun dresses or bathing suits half the time, but under packed the cold weather stuff for evenings and sea days. Our sea days got pretty chilly and while we did have some sweatshirts/long pants, we could have done with a few more.

 

PLEASE buy an over the door shoe organizer. This helped tremendously in organizing all toiletries, medicines, bandaids, hair stuff, we brought for the family. We bought 2 and used both!

 

We also went to the dollar store before we left and bought crayons, coloring books, activities for them to do while we were in the cabin or even just during the day. We also bought a bunch of sand toys that we wouldnt care about losing...those were lifesavers.

We brought our small blow up pool for our little one which we put on deck and filled up since she wasn't allowed in the pool with diapers.

 

They had kids club for our 3 yr old and that was nice but since we still had our 18 month old, she didn't spend a lot of time there.

 

RUN to the ice skating show. An hour of 2 toddlers sitting completely still. Ifyou have older kids (our 3 yr old did it) get there early and look for the reserved for children seats and they'll get to be part of the show! Our daughter LOVED IT)

 

If you are going with a group or just might want to separate a while, we found the deck phones you can rent on board indespensible. for $25/week we were able to reach each other anywhere on the ship. REALLY nice option.

 

We ended up eating at the buffet for most of the meals...our youngest is just at that age where she will not sit still for more than 20 min so the dining room was not an option for us. However, I must say for a buffet, the food was pretty good and they had lots of healthy options.

 

Ports- Cabo was great. We took a water taxi to Mango Deck and snagged some chairs/umbrella beachside and spent the day in the sun and sand. We didnt want to leave.

 

Mazatlan- Did some walking in the historic district, took a cab to the golden area, and then headed back to the ship. This town was icky in our opinion..no nice beaches, no nice boardwalk...we enjoyed an empty ship pool and great weather on board with no crowds.

 

Puerto Vallarta- We walked about 10 min to Krstyal resort and hung out at thier pool/beach for the day. They have a playgroud and toddler pool and a pretty relaxed atmosphere. Would do that again in a minute. We didn't hit downtown but we've been there before and the boardwalk is lovely with lots of space to walk and shop.

 

2 Days at Sea-- These were tough...not a ton to do. They did have a mommy and me type program for the little one which was a nice distraction but the hours were not conducive to our nap schedule for the most part.

 

Babysitting- VERY nice babysitters. They charged us $12/hr w a 2 hour min. We booked AS SOON as we walked on board as they don't always have availablity. We waited till the girls were down each night then had them just come and watch TV while we had some time out.

 

Getting on and off the ship was a breeze....no issues...if you can, wait until after 2pm to get on ....the crowds die down and you can get on without a wait.

[sas80]

We just got back from the 7 day Mexican riviera cruise on Mariner of the Seas. These boards helpped me out so much preparing for that cruise I thought I'd post a review in the hopes of helping another planning family. :)

 

We have a 3 yr old and an 18 month old. We got 2 adjoining balcony rooms. Requested a pack and play which we got. Girls slept in one room, we were in the other with the door always adjar.

 

Packing: We overpacked the warm weather gear as we were in sun dresses or bathing suits half the time, but under packed the cold weather stuff for evenings and sea days. Our sea days got pretty chilly and while we did have some sweatshirts/long pants, we could have done with a few more.

 

PLEASE buy an over the door shoe organizer. This helped tremendously in organizing all toiletries, medicines, bandaids, hair stuff, we brought for the family. We bought 2 and used both!

 

We also went to the dollar store before we left and bought crayons, coloring books, activities for them to do while we were in the cabin or even just during the day. We also bought a bunch of sand toys that we wouldnt care about losing...those were lifesavers.

We brought our small blow up pool for our little one which we put on deck and filled up since she wasn't allowed in the pool with diapers.

 

They had kids club for our 3 yr old and that was nice but since we still had our 18 month old, she didn't spend a lot of time there.

 

RUN to the ice skating show. An hour of 2 toddlers sitting completely still. Ifyou have older kids (our 3 yr old did it) get there early and look for the reserved for children seats and they'll get to be part of the show! Our daughter LOVED IT)

 

If you are going with a group or just might want to separate a while, we found the deck phones you can rent on board indespensible. for $25/week we were able to reach each other anywhere on the ship. REALLY nice option.

 

We ended up eating at the buffet for most of the meals...our youngest is just at that age where she will not sit still for more than 20 min so the dining room was not an option for us. However, I must say for a buffet, the food was pretty good and they had lots of healthy options.

 

Ports- Cabo was great. We took a water taxi to Mango Deck and snagged some chairs/umbrella beachside and spent the day in the sun and sand. We didnt want to leave.

 

Mazatlan- Did some walking in the historic district, took a cab to the golden area, and then headed back to the ship. This town was icky in our opinion..no nice beaches, no nice boardwalk...we enjoyed an empty ship pool and great weather on board with no crowds.

 

Puerto Vallarta- We walked about 10 min to Krstyal resort and hung out at thier pool/beach for the day. They have a playgroud and toddler pool and a pretty relaxed atmosphere. Would do that again in a minute. We didn't hit downtown but we've been there before and the boardwalk is lovely with lots of space to walk and shop.

 

2 Days at Sea-- These were tough...not a ton to do. They did have a mommy and me type program for the little one which was a nice distraction but the hours were not conducive to our nap schedule for the most part.

 

Babysitting- VERY nice babysitters. They charged us $12/hr w a 2 hour min. We booked AS SOON as we walked on board as they don't always have availablity. We waited till the girls were down each night then had them just come and watch TV while we had some time out.

 

Getting on and off the ship was a breeze....no issues...if you can, wait until after 2pm to get on ....the crowds die down and you can get on without a wait.

 

lindaana, thank you so much for your review! We are off on the Voyager in 2 weeks and you reminded me that I should shop the dollar store to get some dispensible away toys, thanks!

 

I noticed that you booked adjoining D1's. I wanted to alert you that all Voyager class ships (the mariner is a voyager class ship) have two 2 room adjoining combo's where one room is a D1-balcony and the connecting room is a L-inside.

 

If you take a look at any Voyager class ship deck plan you can see what I am talking about. The rooms are both on the 9th floor. 9376/9381 and 9676/9681. If you ever decide to sail on a Voyager class ship again and are going to book 2 rooms again you might want to look into booking this combo.

 

Again, thanks for the review, glad you had a great time!

[alise007]

which door are you putting the shoe rack on? are they the ones that just have hooks that hang? Do they stay pretty much in place with the ship movement or are you hearing clinking/rustling noises all night?

 

How did bath time go?

 

We are considering 2 rooms nearby--but not adjoining bc I haven't seen what we want on the Radiance-- balcony (for 2 parents) and then outside view room for my Aunt and the 3yr old and 5 yr old (prefer one with pullman or sofa bed) to share.

[TravelMomma281]

We are traveling on the same ship over spring break with our 24 mth old, 15 yr old and his 16 yr old friend. Thanks for sharing your review. I know this q'n has been asked on other threads but did you take a car seat for your 18mth old? And how did you fill up your pool?

 

You mentioned you went to the beach in some of the ports. Did you buy an offshore excurtion? Or did you go on your own? If you went on your own what did you do for bathroom facilities and for eating lunch? Did you bring a stroller?

 

Our daughter naps at 12:30pm everyday and I'm wondering on the days we are in port if it's easily accessible to return to the ship for her naps? She won't nap anywhere but in a bed so it's vital we are able to return to the ship.

 

I'm sure I'll think of other questions but these are my burning questions.

[lindaana]

Thanks for everyones reply...here are some answers to your questions:

 

Over the door hanger hangs on the bathroom door and we didn't hear a peep from it...the same could not be said for the hangers in our closet :)

 

Excursions- we also had mid day nappers and here is what we did. We did not book any excursions through the ship. Wanted to stay flexible and easy. In Cabo we took a water taxi from the tender to our beach/ Mango deck. Took about 20 min total to get back to the ship to nap...however, with the time change, by the time they woke up, it wasn't worth getting back on the ship so it was a shorter day there.

Mazatlan, ended up back on the ship using an empty pool..it was really fun...we didnt like this port much. PV, walked 10 min to Krystal resort and used their pool/beach for the day. Went back after nap too. Very easy on/off the ship in pV.

 

Blow up Pool- I asked the bar for a bucket they use for beers and went to the regualr pool and filled up our blow up. Pretty easy. :)

 

Car Seats- We did not bring car seats but the only place we could/would have used them was Mazatlan and the open air taxi we used probably wouldn't have been able to handle it....I say skip it unless your planning on long car excursions.

 

Bath time- No bath tubs. I basically got in the shower and had my husband hand me a kid one at a time. The showers have the removeable shower heads so I just sat on the floor and washed/rinsed them up there. Neither of my girls love showers so this was a little hectic, but quick and necessary :)

HTH

[Vegasaussie]

My wife and I are heading off to the Mariner with a 20 month old this weekend and this review and advice has been awesome. It has put my wifes mind at ease a little, it also proved that I am a very smart man about the small inflatable pool. I cannot thank you enough. We like you.:)